New Flames
by Shiantor
Summary: AangXOnji. Onji always found Kuzon to be a little mysterious. But maybe she has a chance to find out more about him when he asks for her to teach him Firebending. RR. NO FLAMES excuse the pun
1. The Dance Party

WARNING! SPOILERS FOR "THE HEADBAND"

EDIT: Argh! Misspelled Onji's and Hide's names. Thank you ASN!

New story! I'm surprised there aren't that many fanfics about Onji after "The Headband" aired. I for one think the pairing could have potential if done correctly. I don't think Aang and Onji are really going to get together, but I reckon it's going to be built upon as the series progresses, as a love triangle with Kataang. I just don't think Onji was just a one-off character, and we'll hopefully see more of her.

This first chapter is based off of the ending to "The Headband," so there will be SPOILERS for those who haven't seen it yet. The first part is from the episode, just from Onji's perspective, and the second part is my own little addition.

I do not own "Avatar: the last Airbender" or any of its characters. This is just a fanfic.

* * *

Onji stood in the crowd of onlookers, watching Kuzon and the tanned girl perform their graceful dance. The two leapt and spun around one another with magnificent elegance, as if they were in a majestic bending duel. 

But as beautiful as it was, Onji could see the look in Kuzon's eyes as he danced. It was a look of longing adoration for his dance partner, a look that triggered a small pang on jealousy within the Fire Nation girl. But she couldn't be envious, not of Kuzon. He was too nice a guy, someone who had taught her the true meaning of expressing oneself.

Besides, she already had Hide.

The dance finished with a round of applause from the surrounding crowd. Even Onji couldn't help but join in with the clapping.

The music started up again, and everyone started dancing once more. Most were simply improvising dance moves, just letting themselves go wild. But Onji could see a good few people trying the simple Ba-Sing-Se ballroom dance, and one or two attempting (and failing) the Phoenix Flight dance they had seen Kuzon demonstrate earlier.

Onji saw Kuzon dancing away happily, the ends of his headband whipping this way and that like charmed snakes. She blushed as he passed by her. She couldn't help but be amazed at his sheer level of stamina, especially after the performance he had just given a few minutes before. His partner was still sitting down to catch her breath, but he danced on, expressing his enjoyment.

But at that moment, the cave went silent. The music stopped and the happy dancers stood still. Onji looked to the cave entrance and gulped. The school headmaster stood there, his aging face wrinkled into a frown. He was accompanied by three armored guards and (Onji gritted her teeth) Hide. He must have told the headmaster what was going on in order to get back at Kuzon.

"He's the one we want!" the headmaster said to the guards, pointing at a shocked Kuzon. "The boy with the headband!"

With a worried "uh-oh", the dark-haired boy took off into the crowd, followed by one of the guards. Onji lost track of him for a few moments before her brown eyes fell upon the ends of his telltale red headband. But as the guard approached, Kuzon didn't move.

_Come on, _Onji thought desperately. _Come on, Kuzon, run! _

The guard's hand gripped the boy's shoulder and spun him round…only to reveal a different, darker-skinned boy, who smiled and said "Looking for me?" The guard looked around, bewildered.

"That's not the one," the headmaster said. "He's here somewhere! Don't let him leave the cave!"

As the search continued, Onji realized the boy's plan. She turned away from the guard whipped off the sash around her waist and fastened it around her forehead. Sure enough, after only a few seconds, she felt a rough hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at the guard with a smirk.

"Yes?" she said innocently.

Others seemed to be getting the idea. All around her, other school children were tying their sashes around their heads, making it nigh impossible for the guards to locate the real Kuzon.

"Who're you looking for?"

"Do you need something?"

"Over here!"

The taunting comments soon rang through the cave, only mounting the headmaster's frustration. Onji caught sight of the real Kuzon running for a cave exit, unbeknownst to the guards. She smiled and looked back towards the headmaster.

"That's it!" he shouted. "Enough of these childish games! Where is Kuzon?"

Hide was standing behind him, looking just as angry as the older man before him. Onji had a sudden idea.

"Kuzon?" she said, stepping through the crowd to face the fuming headmaster. "He should be around here somewhere. I mean, you _did_ invite him, didn't you Hide?"

"What?" Hide said angrily, but the headmaster looked at him suspiciously.

Onji flashed him a devious smirk. "Remember?" she said. "You're the one that organized this party and invited us."

The listening crowd realized Onji's plan and all nodded, muttering in agreement.

"Is this true, Hide?" the headmaster said, rounding on the boy.

"What? No!" he retorted indignantly. "It was that Kuzon kid…!"

"You organized this ridiculous gathering and tried to place the blame on another student?" the headmaster said, ignoring Hide's protests. "I'm disappointed in you, boy. I would have thought you of all people would have known better."

Hide glared at Onji, who responded by placing her hands on her hips and raising her eyebrows at him. _That's for trying to hurt Kuzon,_ she thought.

"I'll be speaking to your parents about this," the headmaster finished. "And as for the rest of you, return home immediately. I will hear no more of this absurd 'dance party.'"

And with that, the crowd made their steady way out of the cave, smiling and chattering to one another. Onji removed the sash from her head and refastened it around her waist.

She had made it quite clear she was through with Hide. And now that Kuzon was off the hook…that tanned girl would have to watch out.


	2. Enigma of the Colonies

Chapter two of my Aang/Onji fanfic.

I do not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender," nor do I own the characters. This is just a fanfic.

* * *

The next day, Kuzon's dance party was the only thing anyone could talk about. Ms Kwan hadn't yet arrived for History class, so the excited students just sat on their desks, talking eagerly about last night's events. Some had even taken to wearing their sashes around their heads, like Kuzon did. It was partially as a mark of respect for the young dancer…but also because the headmaster flinched whenever he saw anyone wearing a red headband. Kuzon himself, however, hadn't arrived yet.

Onji just sat at her desk, twiddling her thumbs nervously. She knew Hide was out of the picture, so she didn't have to worry about him anymore. But she also knew that Kuzon liked the tanned girl he had danced with the night before. That meant Onji had to try extra hard to get his attention. She just had to make sure she kept her cool when she talked to him.

Sure enough, Kuzon himself strolled into the room, followed by bright cheers from his waiting classmates.

"Way to go Kuzon!"

"Great party last night!"

"When's the next one?"

Kuzon just smiled modestly at the compliments and friendly thumps on the back. Onji smiled at the sight of him…and then turned bright pink as he looked at her.

"Hey Onji," he said brightly, walking over to her desk as his 'fans' dispersed.

"H-hey Kuzon!" Onji said a little too cheerfully as she jumped to her feet. "I, uh…I just wanted to say that…" She gulped. "Ihadareallygreattimeatthedancepartylastnightthankyou!"

Kuzon raised an eyebrow and smiled unsurely. "Um…sorry, didn't catch that."

"Sorry, I just…" Onji felt herself turning as red as the sash around her waist. "I…I had a great time last night, Kuzon," she said, looking at the ground. "Th-thank you."

"Hey, no problem," Kuzon replied with a smile. "Just remember, there's nothing wrong with expressing yourself every once in a while."

He walked over to his desk behind her, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he passed.

Onji blushed. Why was she screwing up like this? She was fine when she talked to him yesterday, what was so different today? She sat back down at her desk. _Yesterday you were with Hide,_ she told herself. _You knew you didn't have a chance with Kuzon, you just wanted to talk to him. But now you can go for him, and you're competing with someone else._

She let her head hit the desk. _Why must these things be so complicated? _

At that moment, Ms Kwan strode into the room. The class fell quiet, and students scurried back to their desks.

"Good morning class," she said. As the class stood, her piercing eyes spotted the numerous headbands being worn around the room. "Class, I've already made it quite clear that you do _not_ wear head coverings indoors!"

"Aw, come on, Kuzon's allowed to wear his headband!" retorted a boy seated somewhere at the back of the class.

"I have made an exception with Kuzon," Ms Kwan said firmly. "He does not want nosy children staring at his scar when they should be focusing on their school work. Now, remove your head coverings!"

The demand was met with several disappointed groans as Onji's classmates restored their sashes to their waists.

But Onji had forgotten about Kuzon's scar. He had mentioned it on his arrival at the school and it was the very reason he wore his now-famous headband. No one had actually seen the scar, and Onji respected Kuzon's desire to keep it hidden. But that didn't stop her wondering…

What was it? A burn scar? A blade wound? Either way, it seemed to make Kuzon more…Onji couldn't think of the right word. Exciting? Heroic? Enigmatic? She settled for the last one. 'Enigmatic' seemed to fit Kuzon all to well. No one really knew that much about him, at least not personally.

Kuzon, the Enigma of the Colonies. Onji smiled as the title rang attractively through her head.

"Something funny, Miss Onji?" Ms Kwan said, spotting the girl's smile.

Onji turned pink again. "N-no Ms Kwan," she stammered. "Nothing at all."

"Very well then," the teacher said. "Class, recite the National Oath."

The whole class turned to face the portrait of Firelord Ozai at the back of the room, and started to recite the Fire Nation's national oath.

Onji struggled to hold back a giggle. Kuzon, being from the Fire nation colonies, was still struggling in remembering what to recite, although it wasn't quite as disastrous as it had been the day before. At least he didn't finish with 'bah, blah, blah.'

After that, the class started with the history lesson. Ms Kwan started reading from a dusty textbook, telling the class of a supposed 'secret' river that ran past the Fire Nation palace, and how past armies had tried and failed to use it to sneak past the palace guards.

Onji could hear furious scribbling from behind her, and turned her head to see Kuzon desperately trying to copy down every word spoken by Ms Kwan.

"Why so enthusiastic?" she whispered to him.

Kuzon looked up, surprised. "Oh, nothing," he whispered sheepishly. "I just…like learning the history of the mainland."

Onji smiled before turning back to her own notes. Hopefully, when class ended, she would be able to keep her nerves in check long enough to be able to find out more about the mysterious colonist sitting behind her.

Whatever it took, she was going to crack this enigma.


	3. Playground Agni Kai

Chapter three of my Aang/Onji fanfic.

I do not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender," nor do I own the characters. This is just a fanfic.

* * *

The loud clang of the school bell echoed through the corridors and classrooms, heralding the end of that morning's classes. Almost immediately, doors slid across, and the red-and-black clad students poured out onto the main courtyard, the air alive with the buzz of a thousand chattering voices.

Onji followed Kuzon out of class, being sure to keep her eyes on his headband as he disappeared into the crowd. Finally, he stopped in the corner of the courtyard, talking to Shoji, another one of their classmates.

Onji gulped before waving. "Hey…hey Kuzon!" she called out to him. But as she walked over, her shoulder collided forcefully with that of another girl.

"Hey! Watch it!" the girl snapped, her gold eyes glaring at Onji.

"I-I'm sorry, Kiya," Onji said quickly, shifting her eyes away from the girl's sharp face.

"Next time, you _will_ be," Kiya responded threateningly before stalking off into the crowd.

Onji gulped at the threat, and turned to see Shoji and Kuzon walking towards her.

"Who was that?" Kuzon asked curiously.

"Kiya," Shoji replied darkly. "If you thought Hide was tough, you should definitely keep clear of her. She's one of the school's best Firebenders." He chuckled. "That's how she got the nickname Agni Kiya."

Kuzon looked him, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Why's she called that?" he asked.

Onji and Shoji just looked at him. "Come on, Kuzon," Shoji said. "You _do_ know what an Agni Kai is, don't you?"

Kuzon just blinked. Shoji sighed.

"Agni Kai? Fire dueling? Ringing any bells?"

"Er, not really," Kuzon said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "My colony was pretty…uh…rural. None of us really knew all that much about, er, mainland customs."

Onji giggled. This was one of the reasons she liked Kuzon. He was a great guy, but not so perfect that he overshadowed everyone. He had his flaws, just like anyone else, and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

Shoji looked between Kuzon and Onji, and smiled. "Well then," he said. "I, uh, better get going. See you later." And as he walked off, he gave Onji a wink from behind Kuzon's back.

Onji felt herself blushing again as the two of them were left alone.

After a few moments of painful silence, Onji decided to speak. "So…what colony did you come from, then?" she asked. If she wanted to find out more about Kuzon, now was the time to do it.

"Uh…the…Chen-Fey colony," he answered unsurely. "In…the western Earth Kingdom."

"The west?" Onji repeated. "So not too far from here then."

"Er, guess not," Kuzon said.

The two started walking through the crowd of school children.

"Well…what about parents?" she asked.

Kuzon shrugged. "I never knew them," he said. "They…they died not long after I was born. My colony raised me."

"Really?" said Onji. "Because I heard that you – and your parents – had a meeting with the headmaster the other day."

"Oh! That," Kuzon said, turning red. "You wanna know the truth?"

She nodded.

"Well…those were just two friends of mine pretending to be my parents."

Onji laughed. "Seriously?" she asked.

"Yeah," Kuzon said, chuckling. "My 'dad' was just a fifteen-year-old wearing a fake beard."

Onji just laughed harder. "Really? What about your mother?"

Kuzon snickered. "Let's just say I'm not sure if she would be my mother or my aunt, if you catch my drift."

The girl's eyes widened. "They were _siblings?_"

Kuzon nodded. "Yup. In fact, she was the girl I was dancing with last night, remember?"

Onji's smile faded. "Oh…yeah," she said. She had forgotten about her, the dark-skinned girl. How close was she to Kuzon? Onji guessed at pretty close, if she had been willing to disguise herself as Kuzon's mother in order to help him out.

But Onji was so lost in her own thoughts, she crashed into someone walking in the opposite direction, and fell painfully onto the stone ground.

"Sorry!" she said quickly. "I-I wasn't looking where I was…" She looked up and gulped.

She had bumped into Kiya again. The girl looked down at Onji angrily.

"I warned you…"

Onji scrambled to her feet as a flame leapt into life in Kiya's hand. "No! Please, it was an accident!" she begged.

But before Kiya could take another step, Kuzon stood between them.

"Move it, kid," she said warningly.

"She said she was sorry," Kuzon said firmly. "Just leave her alone."

"Get out of my way…"

But as Kiya made to walk around Kuzon, he stepped swiftly to the left, blocking her path again. The Firebender sniggered. "What's this, Onji?" she said teasingly to the frightened girl. "A _new_ boyfriend? Didn't take long, did you?"

Onji turned bright red at the comment.

"So what, kid?" Kiya said, turning her attention back to Kuzon. "You want to fight for her?" The flame in her hand roared with greater ferocity. "Fine by ME!" As she reached up, ready to bring the flames crashing down on Kuzon, he leapt straight over her head, landing nimbly behind her as the attack struck the ground harmlessly.

By this time, the other children realized what was going on and had formed a crowd around the scene.

"What's the matter?" Kiya taunted as she and Kuzon circled one another. "Scared of a little Agni Kai?"

Kuzon's face turned white, and he hung his head slightly. "I-I can't," he said.

"Can't fight, or won't fight?" Kiya said.

"No, I really can't," Kuzon said. "I…I can't firebend."

There were various murmurings and gasps from the surrounding crowd. Kiya just laughed.

"Seriously?" she said. "You're a non-bender? Well, this should make things easier…"

"Not quite," Onji said, loud enough for Kiya to hear. She placed a hand on Kuzon's shoulder to pull him back, and stepped forward. "If you want to fight a Firebender…fight me. I'm the one you want."

This was met with further surprised gasps from the crowd.

"Wait…you can firebend?" Kuzon asked quietly.

"A…a little," Onji replied. "I know a few basic moves…"

"Onji, please," Kuzon said, sounding concerned. "You don't have to do this."

"I know," said Onji, looking back towards Kiya. "But I want to." Now was her chance to prove herself, to prove how far _she_ would go to help Kuzon.

Kuzon stepped reluctantly back into the crowd, and Onji assumed a firebending stance. As Kiya smirked, she felt both determined and terrified at the same time.

"Then let's begin," Kiya said. Without a moment's hesitation, she leapt forwards and sent a stream of blazing fire towards her scared opponent. Onji panicked and jumped out of the way, bruising her hip and grazing her elbow as she hit the ground.

She scrabbled to her feet only to see another fierce attack roaring towards her. In a sudden wave of terror, she performed a quick, rigid movement with her arms, screwing up her eyes as the flames streamed only inches past her face, barely managing to divert them.

Taking advantage of Kiya's momentary hesitation, Onji punched the air twice, sending two feeble balls of fire towards her opponent. She expected Kiya would block them both easily, and was not disappointed. A single sweep of her arms extinguished the flames instantly.

"Pathetic," Kiya said cruelly. "Truly pathetic."

Onji kept jumping and rolling away from the barrage of flames sent her way, only just managing to keep ahead of Kiya's attacks. She had never learned to block firebending attacks, only divert them. And even then, she could only do so on the feebler attacks sent her way.

Onji cried out as a flame licked past her shoulder, setting it alight for a moment before she managed to quickly pat it out with her other hand. Thankfully it didn't burn her skin, only singed her school uniform slightly.

Both scared and exhausted, Onji was running out of ideas. She looked from Kiya to Kuzon, who was standing at the front of the crowd. He caught her eye and started making unusual swinging movements with his arms, stepping softly from left to right.

_Why's he dancing?_ Onji thought, recognizing the Ba-Sing-Se ballroom dance Kuzon had taught her the night before. _Is now really the time?_ But she saw the serious look on his face and in his eyes, as if this particular dance was somehow important to her fight.

Onji looked back at Kiya just as she leapt forward to attack again, flames roaring in her hands. Time itself seemed to slow down as a flaming fist headed for her face.

Onji was panicking, her mind racing furiously. So, in a last, desperate attempt, she did the first thing that came to her mind…

She danced.

She stepped to the right, swinging her right arm up as she did so. And sure enough, her wrist collided with Kiya's with enough force to deflect the attack.

The Firebender was momentarily surprised, but that didn't stop her from attempting another punch. Without missing a beat, Onji stepped to the left, letting her right arm swing back down as her left one was raised, once again redirecting the vicious attack.

The crowd started cheering, making Kiya all the more enraged. She aimed a blow at Onji's stomach, but she stepped smartly to the right, moving sharply around her attacker with the 'Camelephant Strut,' another dance Kuzon had demonstrated the night before.

With a terrible roar, Kiya spun around, sending a blazing arc of fire towards Onji. Instinctively, Onji leapt into the air. The whole world seemed to spin past her as she somersaulted backwards. Such a thrilling sensation came over her. The wind blowing through her hair, the sun arcing past her. She felt…wonderful. And as the ground came back into view, Onji braced herself…and with a sharp tap, landed perfectly on one foot.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause. Even Kiya looked like she had just been struck dumb.

Onji smiled, spotting her opponent's obvious opening. She jumped forward, her fist raised and ready to strike…

But she had been careless. In a sudden blur, Kiya's hand clapped firmly around Onji's fist. Onji gasped, and then screamed in pain as a searing heat was forced into her hand. Kiya then threw her forcefully to the ground, clearly not caring about Onji's burnt, reddened hand.

Onji tried to soften the stinging pain with her good hand as she looked up at her opponent. Kiya raised her flaming fist, ready to deal the final blow upon her. Onji screwed her eyes shut and braced herself for the flames.

But she heard the crowd suddenly gasp, and the fierce whoosh of fire could be heard to her left. Then all went silent, save for a few near-silent murmurings in the crowd.

Slowly, Onji opened her eyes.

Kuzon stood before her, his hand clamped tightly around Kiya's wrist, holding it away from the fallen girl. A smoking black scorch mark had scarred the stone ground beside Onji, marking where the flames had missed their target.

"_Enough!_" Kuzon said dangerously. "You've made your point, Kiya, now leave her be!"

The Firebender turned her sharp gaze from Kuzon to Onji. She yanked her hand away from Kuzon's grasp.

"Fine!" she spat. "This fight is over anyway." She turned sharply on her heel and walked off into the crowd, shoving the astounded spectators out of her path.

Kuzon sighed. "It's okay, Onji," he said. "Come on…"

But as he turned around, Onji was already running away from the scene of the Agni Kai.

A few, speckled tear marks were the only sign that she had even been there.


	4. Promises

Chapter three of my Aang/Onji fanfic.

I do not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender," nor do I own the characters. This is just a fanfic.

* * *

Onji kept running. She didn't care that school hadn't ended yet, nor did she care that she had left Kuzon behind. She just ran away from the school, clutching her stinging right hand in her left, tears falling from her eyes.

What was Kuzon going to think of her? She was weak and useless. Her fight with Kiya had proven that much, at least. She was glad that he had protected her from Kiya's last attack and prevented further injury, but she was also ashamed that he had to step in at all. If only she hadn't been so careless, maybe…

No. There was no point in questioning it. In Kuzon's eyes, she would always be second place compared to that other girl. That nameless, dark-skinned dancer that she envied so much.

After several minutes, Onji passed into a patch of trees, through which a river swiftly flowed. She dropped to her knees at the bank, and looked at her damaged hand. The skin was burnt red, and her fingers were trembling uncontrollably.

Carefully, she lowered her hand into the flowing stream, wincing as the water stung her skin on contact. After a few moments, the stinging subsided, and the cool liquid gently soothed her burn.

She just sat there, wincing occasionally, as the water swept between her trembling fingers. But as the thought to herself, she heard light footsteps cross the undergrowth behind her.

She gasped in surprise and turned to see Kuzon standing there, watching her nurse her burnt hand.

"Hey…are you okay?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine," Onji lied. "It's nothing really."

Kuzon knelt beside her. "Let me take a look," he said.

Onji slowly eased her hand out of the water, clenching her teeth as the cold wind stung her fingers. Kuzon gently took her hand, inspecting the injury. Onji felt her face turning red as he did so.

"Don't worry, it's not going to scar you," he deduced, and Onji breathed a sigh of relief. "It'll heal. You just need to take it easy. Here…"

From his pocket, he withdrew a roll of bandages, and proceeded to wrap them gently around Onji's hand.

"Why do you carry bandages with you?" Onji asked curiously.

Kuzon looked at her as he weaved the fabric between her fingers. "I get hurt a lot," he said simply. "When you, uh, grow up in my colony, it sort of happens often."

"Like your scar?" Onji asked, pointing at his covered forehead.

"What? Oh, yeah," Kuzon laughed. "Just like my scar."

"How did it happen?"

Kuzon gulped at her question. "I…don't really want to talk about it," he said. "Anyway, that should be okay…" he tucked the end of the bandage into the wrappings, finishing his treatment.

Onji inspected her hand. Kuzon had done a good job binding it. He had even wrapped the bandage around each individual finger, so she could still move them, albeit a little stiffly.

"I…thanks Kuzon," she said. "I just wish there was some way I could return the favour."

A silence fell between them for a moment. Kuzon scratched his head.

"Well…" he said unsurely.

"You mean there is something?" Onji said eagerly. "Just tell me what it is, and I promise I'll do what I can."

"No, don't worry," Kuzon said, waving his notion. "It's nothing, forget it."

"Kuzon…" Onji reached out, placing her good hand on Kuzon's. Her heart seemed to miss a beat, surprised by her own bravery, and she blushed. Kuzon looked at her, also turning faintly pink. "You've been such a help to me. You helped me to express myself, you put Hide in his place, you stood up to Kiya for me…twice! And now you've tended my burns. It would just feel wrong if I didn't return the favour somehow."

Kuzon sighed. "I just…you're a Firebender, right?"

Onji nodded.

"Well, I've been looking for someone to teach me and…"

"Wait," Onji said. "I thought you said you couldn't firebend?"

Kuzon shook his head. "I can. I just…haven't really learned before," he said. "I tried learning once. But I got impatient and…someone got hurt."

Onji could see the grief in his eyes as he said this.

"But now," he continued. "I've realized it's time to move on from that. I want to learn firebending again and…I was wondering if you could teach me."

Onji's eyes looked to the ground. "Kuzon…you saw that Agni Kai," she said. "You saw how terrible I was. Trust me when I say that I'm not the right teacher for you."

"But you still _know_ firebending moves, don't you?" Kuzon asked.

Onji nodded. "Yeah, but…my teacher always said I was missing something. I guess he meant skill."

"No, Onji," Kuzon said. "What you were missing was confidence. You were scared when you fought Kiya, and your firebending reflected on it. And you keep telling yourself you're no good, and that's also bringing your skills down."

"Well, there you have it," Onji said. "I don't have the confidence to firebend. And if I can't firebend…I can't teach you."

Kuzon pondered for a moment. "Okay then," he said brightly. "I'll make you a deal: I can help you get past this block, and build up the confidence you need to become a skilled Firebender. And once that happens, you teach me the sufficient firebending moves in return. Sound fair?"

Onji could only look at him. Even now, he was still willing to help her, to potentially change her life. His generosity seemed to have no end. But still, she had a chance to aid him in return.

She nodded. "Okay,' she said, smiling. "That…that sounds fair."

"Great!" Kuzon exclaimed, suddenly flinging his arms around her. Onji's face turned pinker still. He was…hugging her.

All too soon, he pulled away. "Okay, meet me at the cave after school tomorrow, once your hand's feeling a little better," he said. "We can get started on building that confidence."

"Yeah,' said Onji, still blushing from the hug. "I guess so."

"Come on," said Kuzon, standing up and offering his hand to Onji. "Let's get back to school before Ms Kwan realizes we're missing."

Onji smiled to herself, before reaching out to take Kuzon's outstretched hand.


	5. Nightmares and Woollypigs

Hey guys. Wow, haven't updated this in over three years O_O. Still, was just looking through some of my old fanfics and this one seemed to have the most demand for more chapters. Plus I'm now aiming to write professionally (yeah, it's been THAT long), so I need to get into the habit of writing whenever I can.

So, for the time being, here's another chapter!

* * *

Onji's eyes were closed tight, and she was trembling with terror. The blazing light burned scarlet through her eyelids, and the heat tore across her skin. For a fleeting second, she dared to open her eyes and saw walls of her home ablaze, family paintings curling and withering under the immense heat, and rippling blankets of fire lashed and consumed all it could reach. Outside, there was only blackness, and the inferno around her was all that existed.

There was nowhere to go.

"Make it stop…" To her, fearsome roaring and cracking of flames drowned out her small whimper. But somewhere, beyond the darkness, Kuzon spoke back.

"Just hang in there, Onji! You're doing great!"

"Kuzon I can't!"

"Just a little longer…"

"No!" Tears trickled down her face and merged with hot sweat. "Please, make it stop! I can't do this!"

She heard a small sound that might have been a sigh, then the clatter of a wooden bucket. A rush of cold water splashed across her face, and the nightmare vanished as quickly as it had come. She spluttered and wiped her face, opening her eyes to a much less harrowing scene; waves washing gently on the shore of a coarse-sanded beach, right outside the cave where Kuzon had hosted his famous dance party. Toucan-puffins rode the sea breeze and let out the peaceful squawking that Onji always associated with childhood trips to the seaside.

"Sorry," she mumbled, continuing to wipe her face purely as an excuse for not looking Kuzon in the eye.

"It's okay," Kuzon said. "Opening a chakra can be pretty intense, but it'll feel better once you get through it."

Onji groaned. "Where do you learn this stuff anyway?"

Kuzon shrugged. "You know…places. Come on, let's take a break."

He gave a little spin and rose to his feet, holding out a hand for Onji. She took it with her good hand and heaved herself up, mentally cursing Kuzon for being so mysterious again.

They walked into the cool shade of the cave. Kuzon had bought three friends with him from the colonies, and all of them were in the cave. Toph was a short, pale girl, currently slumped on what looked like a very uncomfortable bed of rocks whilst picking her nose. She had quite strong-looking arms for someone who didn't seem to do a lot. Then there was Katara, that caramel-skinned girl that always had Kuzon's eye. Despite Onji's jealousy of the girl in almost every way, Katara was a very welcoming and friendly person…which was somehow harder for Onji to stomach. If she were rude and unpleasant, it would at least give her an excuse to dislike her.

The last one was Sokka, Katara's brother. Despite being the eldest of the foursome, Onji found it very hard to take the young man seriously…especially since his sister was presently tussling with a pair of shears in an attempt to hack apart a fake beard that had become completely stuck to his face.

"You actually glued it on?" Katara said, growing more and more impatient with the cumbersome shears. "I thought you were kidding!"

"Ow! Hey, I didn't know how strong it was!" Sokka retorted, looking uneasily at the sweeping blades so close to his skin. "I asked for glue, the shop-keeper provided it, I'm an innocent customer!"

"Somehow, 'idiot' just isn't a big enough word for you," Katara said dryly. "Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?"

"Cos you guys would make fun of me. Come to think of it, why are YOU so quiet?" he said, looking at Toph. "No smart name-calling?"

Toph snorted. "Sokka, you've already called yourself Wang Fire. When I can top that, I'll let you know."

Kuzon laughed. Even Onji couldn't help but giggle a little.

Katara looked up, almost clipping off Sokka's nose in her distraction and earning a distressed yelp of protest. "Oh hey Aa-…Kuzon," she said. "You two had any luck?"

"We're…working on it," Kuzon said, and Onji felt heat rise to her face. "We're just taking a break."

"Okay then. Water's just over there," Katara said, nodding towards a large bucket of fresh water in the corner of the cave.

Kuzon smiled at her and led Onji over to the bucket, dipping a cup into the water and taking a long gulp. He was sweating quite a lot. Why on earth was he wearing his full school uniform on a day like this anyway? Onji was at least in the sleeveless version, and had rolled up her trousers to give her shins some air. Kuzon however was completely covered, and clearly uncomfortable.

"You look hot," Onji said. Her face flushed. "T-temperature-wise, that is!"

Toph went "Ha!" from somewhere behind her.

"Do I?" Kuzon said. "Err…well, I feel fine. Nice and cool, not hot at all." He took another heavy gulp of water.

"You know…you can at least take off the headband," Onji said. "I promise, I won't make fun of you for your scar."

"I'd…really rather not," Kuzon said awkwardly, tugging his headband down slightly to make absolutely certain it was covering his forehead. "Sorry."

Onji sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that easy to see his scar. "Well, what about your arms? They must be chafing."

"Err," Kuzon rubbed his arms uncomfortably. "Okay, I'll be honest…I have…a few scars."

"What, on both arms?"

"Yeah…"

"And both legs?"

"Umm…yeah."

"Wow. What did you do?"

Kuzon's friends all looked at them, and seemed to go tense. Kuzon stammered.

"I…err…w-well, it was a…"

The three friends all finished his sentence at once…each differently.

"House fire!" Katara said.

"Platypus bear!" said Toph.

"Wooly-pig stampede!" Sokka exclaimed the loudest. Everyone gave him an odd look. "…what? Could happen."

"Is any of that true?" Onji said, having a peculiar feeling she was being mocked.

"Well…kind of none of them…kind of all three…" Kuzon said. This seemed to make about as much sense to him as it did to Onji, because he immediately facepalmed. "Look, I'd rather not talk about it."

Onji hesitated, unsure whether to argue his persistence to be an utter mystery to her. But for now, she just nodded. "Okay, I understand."

"Thanks," Kuzon said. "Now come on. Ready to give it another try?"

Onji winced, having almost forgotten about the chakra. "Well…okay. I guess I could give it another go."

"That's the spirit," Kuzon said brightly, glad to be off the topic of his scars. "Drink up, and let's go!"

He headed back towards the mouth of the cave, and the beach beyond. Onji looked down into her cup of rippling water and took a long gulp, savouring the cool moisture.

Because in a few moments, she'd be back in that terrible memory.

* * *

So, there you go! Just a little something to get back into the story until I can sit down and really plan what I want to happen next.

Sorry for the long wait (if anyone is still watching this XD; )!


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